Curtain airbags are inflatable devices intended to protect occupants from injury during accidents such as side impacts or rollover events. Curtain airbags are generally located along the sides of the vehicles either above or below the side daylight openings and, when inflated, cover the interior (inboard) surfaces of the side windows, roof support pillars (A-, B-, and/or C-pillars, etc.), and adjacent portions of the vehicle side structure.
During a accident involving a side impact it is possible for the side window panels to break. During vehicle safety testing that simulates the side of the vehicle striking a pole it has been found that the curtain airbag may be punctured if pieces of the broken window panel are forced against the curtain airbag by the pole during deployment of the curtain.
It is possible to reduce the likelihood of such damage by constructing the airbag from a more puncture-resistant material. Such a material may, however, be thicker, heavier, and/or stiffer than materials more commonly-used in airbag cushions and thus may take up more space when folded for storage and/or may take longer to deploy. Also, if it is found during testing that only a relatively small portion of the airbag surface is prone to damage, it may be necessary to reinforce only these relatively small areas.